Booth One - Celebrating Culture And Conversation

We welcome actor, director, audiobook narrator, and author Kevin Theis back to Booth One to talk about his new book, Invading Nirvana, A Chicagoan in the City of Angels. This hilarious and informative book serves as a blueprint for any actor considering moving to L.A. to try to get work in show business. It's available at bookstores or on Amazon. Kevin has also narrated the audiobook. Longtime Chicago critic and theatre professor Albert Williams has this to say about it: "A smart, witty, but also incisive and candid chronicle of Theis's experiences and observations as a Chicago actor who decided to head west to crash the TV, film, and surprisingly lucrative audiobooks markets." In this book, Kevin explores every aspect of the entertainment industry, including stand-up comedy. Treating the project like a journalism assignment about what it's like to live there, he also talks about other L.A. weirdness, such as the pervasiveness of Scientologists and cannabis. Check out this site to see the big blue Scientolo

It was thrilling to welcome to the Booth two of the stars and the Assistant Director of Writers Theatre's world premiere production of Trevor the Musical. Eli Tokash, who plays Trevor, is magnificent on stage and off. He just lights up the room. He has met his match with co-star, Tori Whaples, who is terrific as Cathy in the show. And what can we say about Tyrone Phillips, who is doing amazing and exciting work in every aspect of his career. Trevor began as a monologue written and performed by James Lecesne for his Drama Desk award-winning one man show Word of Mouth, directed by Eve Ensler and produced by Mike Nichols and Elaine May. He then adapted it into a screenplay for a short film directed by Peggy Rajski that won an an Oscar! Watch the film on YouTube here. This story, set in 1981, is about Trevor, an exuberant middle school kid who is wild for Diana Ross. He has a great "cool" friend, Pinky Faraday (Declan Desmond), who likes him a lot. When one of Pinky's friends insinuates Trevor may be gay, he t

Booth One welcomes Mary Jo DuPrey, who recently visited Chicago from Los Angeles for some meetings about possible directing projects. Mary Jo trained as an actress at Vassar. She then worked with her sister Katie Agresta, a legendary vocal coach, managing her "rock & roll vocal studio" on the upper west side, where she also learned how to teach singing with Katie's amazingly effective approach and exercises. Check out this list of notable students! Mary Jo then moved to L.A. where she had a successful acting career. She also taught acting and singing in UCLA's musical theatre program, and tells us about how she came to be such a sought-after vocal coach for spoken and singing voices. She tells great stories about working with her clients, including how she got connected with Daveed Diggs through their mutual friend and collaborator, composer and sound designer Jonathan Snipes.  Mary Jo worked closely with Daveed while Hamilton was being developed. Read his description of working with her here. Don't miss h

Gary and popular co-host Paul Stroili, welcome special guest Mark Larson to the Booth. Mark is an educator, writer and oral historian, currently working on a book of interviews called Ensemble Chicago: The Making of a Theater Town, An Oral History. Mark has spoken to literally hundreds of theatre professionals, spanning the Chicago theatrical eras from the early 1950s to the present. From Joyce Piven and Alan Arkin to Michael Shannon and Evan Linder, Mark has recorded the stories of playwrights, actors, critics, designers, stage managers, teachers, comedians, artistic directors, producers, executives, and everyone in between. We know you will enjoy hearing our lively discussion about the birth and growth of the Chicago theater scene and the players who made it possible. Mark's book will be released in 2018. You might also enjoy reading more about the incredible story of the rise of theater in Chicago in legendary critic Richard Christiansen's book A Theatre of Our Own, A History and Memoir of 1,001 Nights in

Chill out with a mid-summer edition of Booth One! Gary's good friend and storyteller extraordinaire Julia Maish joins us in the Booth this week. Julia is Manager of Media Relations for WTTW and WFMT and has worked as an actress and jazz singer in Chicago. We ask Julia about her early days working with The Second City. She was the sole administrative employee when she was there and tells an hilarious story about how on her last day, her boss swept all the cash from the safe into a paper bag to compensate her for the many vacation days she never took. A dramatic and thoughtful gesture. Though she never had the desire to jump into the improvisation scene, Julia made a fine career out of doing scripted theater with the likes of Frank Farrell and Paul Sills. She relates her experiences with site-specific Shakespeare and the physical demands and dangers of acting. Also the 24-hour Shakespeare Marathon, the first of its kind in Chicago. Julia talks about her meeting President Barack Obama on several occasions, in

Gary welcomes actor, director, producer, choreographer, casting and teaching professional Stephen Schellhardt to the co-host chair of Booth One this week. Longtime listeners to the program may remember Stephen as a panel guest when we recorded our all-things Sondheim Episode 38 before a live audience at Writers Theatre. His recent production of Urinetown received glowing notices. See a review here. Stephen will next be seen as Melman the Giraffe in Madagascar The Musical at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, directed by friend of the show, episode 57 guest Rachel Rockwell. More details. Stephen is about to begin a position at Northwestern University where he'll be teaching Musical Theatre. We're going to put that knowledge to the test in this Episode 60! Gary and Producer Betsy just returned from a whirlwind trip to New York City where they saw 6 Broadway shows in 5 days! Here's a rundown of the cavalcade: Sweat - Terrific play with a fine ensemble cast. Khris Davis! This show will have a lot of legs on the regi

Gary interviews playwright Antoinette Nwandu and director Danya Taymor during rehearsals of Nwandu's play Pass Over, on site at the Steppenwolf Theatre. We are attending a press performance on June 13 and cannot wait! They share fascinating insights about the process of creating a world premiere, with Antoinette developing the script throughout the rehearsal period. These two are absolutely inspiring as artistic collaborators. So much mutual respect, affection, and humor. Booth One would love to be in the rehearsal room! Antoinette describes Pass Over: “At its core, this play asks us collectively to consider the value of black lives, specifically the lives of young black men who are not extraordinary, who are not entertainers, they’re not athletes, they’re not secret math geniuses. They're young men who might never get better, who might never be different. This play challenges us to envision a society that does not ask these young men to prove their worth.” Inspired in part by two young black men Antoinett

Booth One welcomes back co-host Paul Stroili, and special guest Kevin Theis, actor, writer, director and audio book narrator, for some wild and wacky conversation. Kevin recently directed The My Way Residential, a world premiere play by Geraldine Aaron for the Irish Theatre of Chicago, running though June 25, 2017 at the Den Theatre. Can't wait to see it! In our ongoing fascination with shark stories, we discovered this: When porn star Molly Cavalli dropped down under water into a shark cage wearing a "white hot swimsuit," her presence apparently enticed a 10-foot lemon shark. The next thing you know she's screaming as she clutches her bloody foot. Check out the video. Further evidence to never get out of the boat! Kevin describes his audio narrating career reading some of the world's great books, like Jack London's Call of the Wild, the Autobiography of Charles Darwin, Sun Tzu's The Art of War, and of course the classic, Bigfoot and Frankenstein! Kevin records for Audible, and has newly formed his own au

Booth One welcomes the amazing Rachel Rockwell to our studios amidst her action-packed schedule. Her beautiful production of Shakespeare in Love has just opened at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, and she has about a million other irons in the fire. As a choreographer, Rachel was nominated for Joseph Jefferson Awards for The King & I (2007) and A Chorus Line (2011). As a director, she received Jeff Award nominations for Miss Saigon (2009); The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee—Best Musical (2009); Ragtime (2010) and 42nd Street (2011). For her acclaimed Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre production of Ragtime (11 Jeff nominations and seven awards), she received the Joseph Jefferson Award as Best Director of a musical. As Director, Jeff Award nominations (2012) for Best Director and Best Musical: The Sound of Music and Sweeney Todd at Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre; and Best Play: Enron at Timeline Theatre Company. In 2013, her production of Oliver! received a Jeff nomination for Best Musical. In 2014, she received

Gary and the Booth One crew are pleased to welcome award-winning artistic director of Court Theatre, Mr. Charles Newell to the program. Court is the resident professional theater company of the University of Chicago in Hyde Park. Charlie has been AD at Court since 1994. Under his leadership, Court has, in the words of playwright Tony Kushner, "developed a spectacular reputation as one of the most important theaters in the country." Charlie's directing credits span a spectrum from classic Shakespeare to world premiere dramas and comedies, from musicals to opera. He is the recipient of four Joseph Jefferson Awards for directing, and has been honored by TCG and the League of Chicago Theatres for artistic achievement. Charlie is one of the finest theatrical artists working in America today and refers to himself as "the luckiest man in show business." Newell grew up in the Washington, DC area and first fell in love with theater when he saw an Arena Stage production of Death of a Salesman as a young boy. He studie

April Fools' Day finds us recording our 55th Episode! Returning friend of the show Paul Stroili co-hosts this toe-tapping episode with Gary in Booth One. Paul reveals that he is a motorcycle enthusiast and that his father once raced motorcycles in Europe. Riding a "Hog" is a skill that Gary has long wanted to acquire, though driving a Vespa is probably closer to his ability levels of balance and coordination. Paul gives an update on his hit interactive theatrical production of Tony n' Tina's Wedding. Some cast changes are in store, at least through the summer, and the good news is that the show continues to sell strongly and bookings are being confirmed for well into the fall of 2017. Congratulations to the entire Tony n' Tina's team and best wishes for a long and prosperous run! Our friends at Broadway In Chicago made sure that both Gary and Paul got to see the recent Circus 1903 spectacular at Chicago's Oriental Theater, and they loved both the production and the talented performers. Some of our favorites

Guest co-host Frank Tourangeau joins Gary in Booth One this week. Frank is a director, educator, speech coach, and all-around performing arts aficionado, whose knowledge of Chicago and New York theater is wide-ranging and insightful. I guess we should call him "Doctor" Tourangeau, as he holds a PhD in Speech and Performance Art from Southern Illinois University, and did his dissertation on the interactions of right brain/left brain as it relates to emotional cognition in performance. Wow. One of the smartest people we know! Frank once coached our producer in high school speech competitions and relates a few stories about her performance piece and its reception at competitions. More here. Frank is retired now from his professorship at the College of DuPage in Wheaton, IL and spends much of his time supporting theater and film in and around the city of Chicago. Gary does an Academy Awards recap by reviewing his picks along with those from Roscoe and Paul Stroili. Looks like Gary was the big winner with 6 out

Gary welcomes 4-time Jeff Award winner Danni Smith to the Booth this week, in a lively discussion of her career,  growing up in Indiana, her recent lauded performances in Jesus Christ, Superstar, Man of La Mancha, and the currently-running Mamma Mia at the Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre. Gary and Roscoe first encountered Danni at the Theo Ubique, where she was just marvelous in the role of Mary Magdalene. Not only was she a highlight of the show, she was also our table server at the intimate space. Oh, what fine actors do to make it in this business! Danni treasures the time she spent doing five shows at Theo Ubique. The "bolt of lightning" description is a quote from a Broadway World rave review of her performance in Man of La Mancha. Ever since playing a Munchkin in a grammar school performance of The Wizard of Oz, Danni has been smitten with the theatre. She attended Ball State University to study musical theatre. (Other Ball State alumni include David Letterman, Steadman Graham and John Schnatter, founder

Booth One continues its string of lively guest co-host episodes with our good friend Paul Stroili, actor, writer, director and filmmaker, sitting in the hot seat for still-recuperating Roscoe. Who has, by the way, rented a Barca Lounger to watch movies from for his convalescence. We're going to need a photo of that. Frequent Booth One listeners will remember that Paul has appeared on past episodes, talking about his long-running hit production of Tony n' Tina's Wedding and just being his hilarious, Booth One type entertaining self. He's working on writing a sequel to that outstanding piece of audience interactive theater. We can't wait! Gary and Paul take a look at the current Broadway season, highlighting Glenn Close as Norma Desmond in the new revival of Sunset Boulevard. The NY Times says that her reinvented performance after 22 years "may well guarantee its status as one of the great stage performances of this century." And "one of those rare instances where more is truly more." An actor cannot win a Ton

Our special guest in the Booth this week is Sean Graney, the highly acclaimed Artistic Director of one of our favorite Chicago off-Loop theater companies, The Hypocrites. While Roscoe continues to recover from his health condition, Gary goes one-on-one with Sean in a lively and informative discussion of Graney's background, his founding of The Hypocrites 20 years ago, his experiences with acting, playwriting, adapting and directing, and a host of other theatre-related topics. Sean began his theatrical life in Boston. After school, he chose Chicago as the place to lay down his creative roots. Sean has received wide recognition for his vibrant and forceful productions of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore, and his ground-breaking All Our Tragic, a tour de force adaptation of the 32 extant Greek tragedies, performed in one 12-hour cycle (with meal breaks, of course!). Gary asks Sean about his approach to running a theater company, the nature of collaboration, and his style of

We celebrate Booth One's 50th! episode with guest co-host, Jim Reho. For the past several years, Jim has resided in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the South Side and joins us to give a great tour. Learn more facts about Chicago's South Side. Jim reports on some of the highlights in his part of Chicago. For starters, check out some of the best thin crust pizza anywhere at Vito & Nick's, 84th & Pulaski. They have been around for 90 years! Another Reho favorite is a place that serves Korean/Polish cuisine. We are planning a "Roscoe at Large" visit to check out this great concept at Kimski! Read a 4 star review here. For excellent musical programming in a beautiful setting, hear a concert at Thalia Hall. Built in the 1890's as a replica of the Prague Opera House, it was one of the most ornate theaters of its time. Located in the Pilsen neighborhood, it has wonderful acoustics and you can even rent part of the balcony. Talk about Booth One! Check out the fascinating history. We are planning to see a show t

Gary and Roscoe wrap up 2016 - and good riddance to a challenging year - with an episode of year-end theater going and a few fun lists. First we revisit Hamilton and our recent viewing of the new Chicago production. From our Booth One perspective in the 11th row at the PrivateBank Theatre, this sit-down company is hands down as dynamic, entertaining and exciting as the Broadway show we saw in New York in May. It's not just a traveling road company - the show's creators have put together a virtual replica of the Broadway smash and re-produced one of the great theatrical experiences of a lifetime. Yes, ticket prices are steep and seats are hard to come by, but it's worth every penny and effort to get into this show. Take the time to play the lottery. 'Nuf said.... Our first year-end list is President Obama's final Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients: Alphabetically, they are Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, Ellen DeGeneres, Robert DeNiro, Bill and Melinda Gates, Frank Gehry, Tom Hanks, Michael Jordan, Maya Lin, L

Roscoe and Gary feel on the cusp of stardom and celebrity as they record Episode 48 in time for the holidays. Basking in the great feedback and listener response to our Charna Halpern interview on the last episode, the boys dream of Booth One seating at the great establishments of the world, particularly the Old Ebbett Grill in Washington, DC, where the shellfish is always fresh and the oysters are always briny and cold. We announce the winner of our Hamilton ticket raffle - that lucky someone who will accompany Gary and Roscoe to the Chicago production on Dec. 4. And the winner is......Fran Bernstein, long-time friend and fan of the show! Congratulations, Fran. We'll see you at the PrivateBank Theatre on the aisle! And don't forget we have the VIP Experience before curtain and at intermission. How Booth One of us.... Gary and Roscoe take a tour of the current Broadway season, noting that the aforementioned Hamilton grossed $3.3M last week, the most money ever made in a single week by a Broadway show. Nata

Gary and Roscoe record Episode 47 before a live audience at Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre as part of the 1st Annual Chicago Podcast Festival. Special guest in the Booth Charna Halpern discusses the legendary iO Theater in Chicago, and her work over a 30-year career using improvisation to develop and discover future comedy stars. Her theaters have been a prime conduit of talented performers, writers, and directors for film and television. Graduates of the iO have appeared on Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, The Daily Show and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, among dozens of others. Mike Myers called Charna Halpern "The Uta Hagen of comedy." And the New York Times labeled her "The Hidden Architect of Modern Comedy." Alumni of the iO include Adam McKay, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Stephen Colbert, Chris Farley, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, Jason Sudeikis and Vince Vaughn. Under Halpern's direction, the iO Theaters are producing the next generation of artistic geniuses. Charna shares her insight, experiences and advi

Peabody and Emmy Award winner Jay Martel joins us in Booth One via Skype all the way from Hollywood! It's our first long-distance interview show and the technology involved has Gary and Roscoe a bit daunted, so we've brought in our audio guru John Lisiecki to run sound for us today. Great to have John back in the studio! Jay won an Emmy this year as Executive Producer on the brilliant sketch comedy show Key & Peele, now available in full episodes at Comedy Central. One of their recurring sketches became so iconic that Luther, Barack Obama's "Anger Translator" appeared with the president at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Jay and producing partner Ian Roberts, a co-founder of the Upright Citizens Brigade, were the show runners (Jay tells us what that entails) for Key & Peele and are now show runners for the TV Land program Teachers - featuring the actresses who performed here in Chicago as the improv group, The Katydids. Jay is also a successful playwright, essayist (The New Yorker, Rolling Ston